Chapter 1Three months before the rejection, Aria Ashworth applied for a transfer to the Crescent Moon Medical Center.
One month before the rejection, she mailed the rejection papers to Alpha Kane Ravencrest.
Three days before the rejection, she packed all her belongings and moved out of The Ravencrest Pack.
She decided to end the six-year bond when Kane appeared before her with his first love and her pup—a pup who called him "Alpha Daddy." That was the moment her wolf finally howled the truth.
Since he kept choosing them over her—his fated mate, making her feel like the other woman in her own mating, she would set him free. She would walk away.
Yet when she truly vanished from his world, Kane's wolf went feral.
She thought Kane would finally claim his first love as his new Luna. Yet, surprisingly, this untouchable, powerful Alpha appeared before the media with bloodshot eyes, his voice breaking with raw vulnerability: "I never betrayed our bond. I don't have any illegitimate pups. I just have a mate who left me. Her name is Aria Ashworth. And my wolf is dying without her."
***
Three months ago, the hospital director, Dr. Marcus Reed, held Aria's transfer application and looked at her in astonishment. "Aria, are you certain about transferring to Crescent Moon Medical Center?"
Aria's lashes fluttered as she smiled faintly, her expression tinged with the sorrow. "I've made up my mind."
Her wolf whimpered softly in her chest, sensing the finality in her decision.
Seeing her determination, Marcus sighed and signed the paperwork.
As Aria left the director's office, she ran into Kane and Seraphina Cross in her white coat, with a little pup.
She paused in her tracks.
The scene before her could have been a perfect pack family portrait.
Seraphina walked beside Kane, the boy beaming as he held both their hands.
The sight pierced Aria's heart like silver.
Kane's patience and tenderness toward them were things she'd never experienced, not even during their heat cycles.
She knew he resented their forced bond.
Seraphina had been Kane's first love. Aria only learned they'd separated after she was bonded to Kane through a deal with his grandmother.
To Kane, she was the scheming wolf who'd stolen him away through manipulation. He never knew the truth—that she'd met him long before Seraphina, though he didn't remember their first encounter under the blood moon.
She'd believed their mating bond would make him recall their past and win his heart.
But she was completely wrong.
He despised her with the fury of a caged Alpha.
How could love grow from such hatred?
For six years, he'd claimed to be unmated in public, pretending not to recognize her scent. The proof was undeniable.
"Dr. Ashworth?" Seraphina greeted her.
Kane frowned, his amber eyes sharp as if warning Aria against revealing their bond.
The distance in his gaze sent a pang through her heart, but she maintained her composure. "Ms. Cross. Alpha Ravencrest."
The formal address made Kane's jaw tighten almost imperceptibly.
Kane had recently become an investor in Silverstone Medical Center. Aria knew he hadn't done it for her, but for Seraphina.
Seraphina's return from studying abroad, her immediate position at the hospital, and her appointment as head of surgery made his motives clear as moonlight.
Everyone in the hospital knew she had Alpha Kane's backing, and the recent rumors that he was Seraphina's chosen mate had never been addressed by him.
Seraphina looped her arm through Kane's with practiced ease. "No need for formalities, Dr. Ashworth. At the hospital, you're a veteran, and I still have a lot to learn from you."
Before Aria could respond, the boy tugged at Kane. "Alpha Daddy, I'm tired. Can you carry me? Please?"
Aria's expression dramatically changed at the term "Daddy".
Chapter 2
Seraphina feigned scolding. "Jasper, you can't call him that!" She turned to Kane apologetically. "I'm sorry. He doesn't know better."
Kane glanced at Aria briefly, before effortlessly lifting the boy with neutral efficiency. "It's fine."
"I like you. I wish you were my real daddy!" Raven Cross clung to Kane's neck.
Seraphina tapped the boy's nose playfully. "Silly boy."
Aria clenched her fists until her nails drew blood, the metallic scent sharp in the air.
This gentle, patient side of Kane was one she'd never known.
Aria decided not to dwell on it.
She wouldn't warm his heart anyway.
Perhaps this was the Moon Goddess's way of setting her free.
Swallowing her pain like bitter wolfsbane, she stepped past them into the elevator.
***
Aria hadn't made her job transfer application public, nor had she told Kane, because she thought it was unnecessary.
He likely wouldn't care anyway. His wolf had never shown interest in her movements.
Her car pulled up to Ravencrest Manor, where she rang the bell with hands that trembled slightly.
In no time, the housekeeper, Margaret Hayes, came out to open the door. "Luna Aria, you're back."
"Is Elder Ravencrest home?"
"Yes, she's inside. Please come in." Margaret treated Aria with utmost respect due to the Alpha's mate.
Kane's grandmother, Eleanor Ravencrest, was a highly respected elder in the Ravencrest pack. Since her mate's passing, Eleanor had been the true power behind the pack's affairs.
Eleanor was born into a powerful pack that controlled vast territories. In her youth, she had been a formidable Luna and shrewd pack politician. Even if Kane's mother disliked Aria, she wouldn't dare cross Aria in Eleanor's presence.
Margaret led Aria to the meditation room where Eleanor knelt on a cushion, praying to the Moon Goddess.
"Elder Ravencrest, Luna Aria is here."
Eleanor opened her eyes slowly, her wolf-sharp gaze assessing. "Come sit."
After Margaret left, Aria knelt beside Eleanor, bowing devoutly before the silver statue of the Moon Goddess.
"Elder Ravencrest," Aria began, her voice steady despite her racing heart, "I want to sever our bond with Kane."
Chapter 3
Eleanor froze momentarily before meeting her gaze. "This wasn't our agreement when we made our deal. Are you having second thoughts?"
Yes, she was.
Aria lowered her eyes, suppressing the bitterness in them. "I've disappointed you."
Eleanor closed her eyes briefly and sighed. "Well. If that's what you want, go ahead and end your bond with him. Since I gave you the opportunity, but you still couldn't win his heart. Now our pack owes you nothing more."
A heavy weight settled in Aria's chest like stones in a river. "Thank you," she replied hoarsely, her wolf whimpering at the finality.
***
Returning to Moonrise Apartments, she coincidentally encountered Seraphina, her son, and Kane downstairs.
They had arrived in Kane's black Porsche, the scent of his cologne still lingering in the evening air.
Aria stood frozen.
Seraphina looked at her in surprise. "Dr. Ashworth? Do you live at Moonrise Apartments too?"
Instinctively, Aria glanced at Kane, but he showed no reaction.
His coldness cut deeper than silver claws.
Moonrise Apartments was a luxury complex in Boston, one of the Ravencrest pack's properties. Kane had offered it to her as compensation for their forced bond.
It was close to the hospital, so she accepted it.
She never imagined he would move Seraphina and her son here as well.
How eager his wolf must be.
"What a coincidence," Aria murmured, suppressing her emotions.
As she turned to leave, Seraphina spoke again. "Dr. Ashworth, I heard you're mated. Why haven't we seen your mate around?"
Aria's steps faltered.
Her gaze flickered to Kane, whose amber eyes darkened with displeasure.
Aria sneered inwardly. Was he really that afraid of Seraphina finding out about their mating bond?
"I don't have a mate," she stated flatly.
A shadow passed through Kane's normally controlled eyes.
"But Dr. Ashworth, your records list you as mated," Seraphina said, her smile still in place but her eyes sharp as a blade.
Her hospital records did indeed list her as bonded. Yet no one had ever seen her supposed mate.
Aria forced a mocking smile. "I just wrote that for fun. I don't have a mate."
Kane's eyes narrowed dangerously at her denial.
